For compliance programs, "tone at the top" is a frequently used (but little examined) term.  Just how does a board of directors determine and establish a practical system of ethics that will reach throughout the corporate structure?  What elements are needed?  How can the board gauge the effectiveness of its efforts?  What approaches work best-and which lead to failure?

If you ever had any doubt about how the medium really IS the message, I would like you to take this simple test. Think about the last time you had to say something difficult to someone: you’re fired, I don’t love you anymore, you have disappointed me. How much time did you think about the words? And how much time did you consider the timing and the means by which you would tell them – in person, by email, a note left on the counter? And where, when?

Last week the New York Times contained three separate stories, all in a single section (Business Day), that in some way or another, dealt specifically with the importance of alignment between your corporate character and your public capital, i.e. your reputation.

Dear Colleagues,

Again, because bribery requests invariably arise in verbal and face-to-face communications, there is the opportunity to consider which employees and employee groups face these risks, and to train them appropriately. Sometimes, a factor in the bribery request is that it comes from an unexpected source or is in relation to an unexpected issue, such as the provision of utility services, which is completely counter to most employees expectations and experiences. As a consequence, they feel vulnerable, both now and for the future.

There are many practical and relatively simple bribery controls that companies can put in place, but the sad fact is that most of them don’t. Again, this is partly because of misplaced belief (see above), but also because companies believe that such controls will restrict their business, create unnecessary overhead, constrain their ability to compete, and, in any case, are too difficult to implement and sustain. Companies also often believe that since they have put in place policies, procedures, and training, their work is done.

Anticipating and Closing Down Bribery Opportunities, Including Rotating Roles

Misplaced Beliefs

Petty Cash, Expenses, Goods of Value, and Orders, Including Benford’s Law

Taken together, cash, expenses, goods, and orders represent four key sources of bribery funding from a company. A $20,000 order for a generator can, at face value, appear legitimate; however, with a simple conspiracy, that generator order can, in reality, be an order for a car intended to bribe, say, a government official; there are multiple methods through which a generator order can be turned into a car supply.